William Michael Maxwell Howgate: Baby-faced Redlands drug dealer faces court

A teenage apprentice from Redlands has landed in court after getting busted supplying drugs in a bid to fund his own habit.

A teenage apprentice from Redlands has landed in court after getting busted supplying drugs in a bid to fund his own habit.

Thornlands man William Michael Maxwell Howgate, 19, pleaded guilty in Brisbane District Court on Wednesday to 12 charges, including eight counts of supplying dangerous drugs.

Thornlands man William Michael Maxwell Howgate, 19.

The court heard police searched an address in Kelvin Grove where Howgate, who was 18 at the time, lived with his girlfriend and they found 1.79kg of cannabis and $1450 cash on July 17 last year.

Police seized Howgate’s phone and found evidence of eight counts of supplying drugs, where he offered amounts of cannabis ranging from 1.5 grams for $30 to a quarter of a pound of cannabis for $1450.

The court heard he had been supplying the drugs for a period of about three months from April up until his arrest in July last year.

Howgate’s lawyer told the court this client had no criminal history and started selling cannabis essentially to support his own habit.

He said the teen began smoking cannabis at age 14 and developed an addicted at 16.

He said Howgate had been struggling with anxiety and now had a prescription for medical cannabis.

The court heard the 19-year-old had now moved home with his parents and had a full-time apprenticeship working at his family’s business.

He was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to serve 120 hours of unpaid service. Convictions were not recorded.